The Art of Making Art

October 5, 2017

I've spoken to artists of multiple mediums and have come to the conclusion that perfectionism is detrimental to art. In the process of getting my novel complete and "perfect" before publication I have come across many flaws, typos, and other issues. Those things definitely need to be fixed in order for the book to be readable and professional. I am doing my best to do "fix" things but what I see happening is my creative self is stifled as my editor, my business woman side has to take center stage to get stuff done. That type-A part of my personality, that I didn't know existed, is really good at finding things that are wrong! Is this a defense mechanism? Is this me being paranoid that it has to be perfect in order for it to be accepted and love? I don't teach this to my kids so why am I holding my book (and myself as a creative being) to this ridiculous perception?

Constantly tweaking our work doesn't necessarily make it better. The only thing that it guarantees is that more time will go by before you get to share it with others. Now, while sharing my work isn't the reason that I do it, I have come to the point in my writing where I'm unable to move on with other pieces, other projects, other ideas until I give actual life to my first book. That alone is worth all of the trouble of publishing. That alone forces the "Good enough and go" notion to echo in my brain. Make art. Then share that art so you can make more art.